Whales

By Erica Cirino There are many people who believe whales and dolphins do not belong in aquariums and marine parks, and for good reason: When you put a large, highly intelligent animal that naturally travels a hundred or more miles a day into a small concrete tank, the results aren’t pretty. The animals suffer increased […]

Why the social brain is the most intelligent brain Dolphins and humans have not shared a common ancestor for tens of millions of years. Yet for all the seeming estrangement of lives lived in liquid, when they see us they often come to play, and we can recognize in those eyes that someone very special is […]

“When you lock eyes with them, Ken Balcomb says, “you get the sense that they’re looking at you.It’s a steady gaze. And you feel it. Much more powerful than a dog looking at you. A dog might want your attention. The whales, it’s a different feeling. It’s more like they’re searching inside you. There’s a […]

Adapted excerpt from Safina’s upcoming book, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, in stores July 14, 2015. (CNN) Four mother elephants are keeping their rotund babies in the shade of their bodies as they lead them across a sweet-smelling grassland under an already-hot early equatorial sun. Striding with deliberate purpose as though keeping an appointment, […]

Sign our Avaaz petition: Let’s keep working to #FreeLolita! Originally posted on CNN Opinion, February 4, 2015. (CNN) – “Lolita’s story reminded me of my own,” says African-American actress and singer Robbyne Kaamil. “My own relatives, my family ancestors, were captured and forced into slavery.” Captured in waters off Washington State in 1970, Lolita is an orca […]

By Patricia Paladines & Carl Safina The first whale was spotted at around 11am. We approached it with the quiet stealth afforded by a light wind in our sails. To the best of our knowledge the animal could not imagine or have any concern that a wooden whale-hunting ship was nearing its magnificent, enormous body. […]